Graphic by Trinity Kendrick ‘21
By Mariam Keita ’24
Arts & Entertainment Editor
Chances are that if you’ve spent any amount of time on the Mount Holyoke campus, you have probably encountered at least one of the many flyers that can be found urging students to “TAKE RUSSIAN: NOW IS THE TIME.” This past week, the department welcomed the Mount Holyoke community to the annual arts event “Wild Honey: An Evening of Russian Poetry.” The event is named after the play by Anton Chekhov and hosted by the Mount Holyoke Russian Club.
On Thursday, April 8, 21 students, faculty members and alums of Mount Holyoke’s Russian department congregated via Zoom. Robin Kerr ’21 sang the song “Весна” by Viktor Tsoi, a founding member of the popular Russian band Kino, while strumming along on a ukulele. Others recited poetry or prose or sang other songs as they shared in an evening of appreciation for the language.
Laura Adeniyi ’21, who was in attendance on Thursday, is a native Russian speaker and a language assistant for the Russian department at Mount Holyoke.
“I was just there to support the students that I work with,” Adeniyi said. “[‘Wild Honey’] is just there for them to get into Russian culture, express themselves, find some poetry that they like. [It’s] just like a bonding activity I guess, but with a Russian twist.”
Adeniyi was born in Vladimir, Russia, a small city east of Moscow, and lived in the country for 10 years before moving to the United States.
“The [Russian] students are awesome. They’re so amazing. They’re super talented and I love working with all of them,”Adeniyi said. “At Mount Holyoke, there’s a lot of support and a lot of activities for students [who want] to get involved.”
Students interested in learning more about Russian at Mount Holyoke should reach out to Academic Department Coordinator for Russian and Eurasian Studies Dominique Rampton or visit the Russian Club page on Embark.